Early Crop Yields Not Great, Improvement Expected

An agronomist at Catellier Seeds in Dufrost says early harvest results are disappointing. Scott Robinson says while it's still very early, the yield, in terms of bushels-per-acre, is not great.

 

"Barley seems to be around the high 70's for yield. Fall rye, I'm hearing yields anywhere in the 60's in terms of bushels-per-acre, so that's below average. Some CPS (Canadian Prairie Spring) red wheat around 45 bushels to the acre, which is well below average and then some CWRS (Canadian Western Red Spring) wheat, this is very preliminary, just a small strip within a field, about 40 bushels an acre, definitely lower than average."

 

He adds the quality of the grain is about average. Robinson cautions these are early seeded crops that probably did not benefit as much from the early July rains.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.